Liverpool no longer interested in 21-year-old Dutch defender as £27m price tag is slapped

Liverpool cool their interest in Lille defender Sven Botman 

According to journalist Robin Bairner (h/t The Express), Liverpool are no longer interested in securing the services of 21-year-old Dutch defender Sven Botman, somebody they were heavily linked with in January while they were also interested in signing him earlier this summer. 

Botman, who joined Lille from Ajax last season, went on to become an integral part of the club’s Ligue 1 winning side as he made 37 appearances and conceded a measly 23 goals. 

His impressive performances have led to Lille slapping a £27million price tag on him this summer, which Liverpool and Tottenham do not intend on paying for the Dutchman.

Tottenham were interested in signing the player this summer due to Toby Alderweireld’s exit, but with the club now interested in signing Cristian Romero from Atalanta, a move for Sven Botman is unlikely.

Liverpool joined the race to sign the defender in January itself due to the injury crisis in their defence. Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip were out with injury, and Jurgen Klopp was resorting to playing Fabinho at the back, courtesy of which the Reds tried hard to sign Botman in the winter transfer window. 

However, Liverpool ended up signing Ozan Kabak on a loan deal from Schalke while they also signed Ben Davies from Preston. 

The Reds were also interested in signing Botman earlier this summer until they went ahead and secured Ibrahima Konaté’s services from RB Leipzig. Additionally, Liverpool will also have Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez back from injury soon, leaving the Reds with four quality centre-backs for this season.

Liverpool are currently in Austria for their pre-season games as they gear up for the 2021/22 Premier League season, which is due to commence in a couple of weeks.